Hera took a moment to gather herself. Being pushed by water out of the blue was not a feeling she wanted to get used to. She carefully stepped forward, trying to make sure the ground wasn't about to just collapse under her. Not that she was afraid of Fritz and this place, but it became a habit when she found herself in a new place.

"Are you ok?" Fritz asked as he got closer. Here he was much bigger than he was outside, being almost as tall as Hera, but he was still not intimidating at all.

"Yeah, sorry. The trip here is just a bit disorientating," the Empress rubbed her eyes, "Daskka, are you ok?"

"I am fine. That was fun," the snake replied, wagging her tail.

"I think it's easier for us. We are mana, and Hera here isn't. So we have a better time changing sizes," Fritz walked to the side and pointed to the hut, "Come with me. I know you can't stay much, but I want to show you my house," the crab started walking through the white sand.

Hera followed along, and she couldn't help but notice how this place was extremely pleasant. The temperature was simply perfect. Both warm enough to make sense of this being a beach but with a colder wind to cool her off. Even the smell was something that she couldn't think of a way to be better. It was just the right amount of ocean and grass that gave the feeling of a paradisaic island. The cherry on top was the sky. It was blue, and she could see the sun, but she could also see the cave that she just left. Although there were better words than 'left'.

"This place is amazing, Fritz," Daskka gasped while looking around.

"Thanks! We guides all have a small piece of land to do what we want with it, and I was the first one to make something like this. Now there are a few who carry their homes with them, but it's not something that many enjoy. They prefer to have either their own place set up like they like. Or just make a building where they can live with others and use their land for something else."

"Oh? You guys even have buildings?" Hera asked.

"We do. We are very community driven. Especially since most of us can't even do our jobs because no one found their rooms."

"Are you one of those? That never had a job before we got here?"

"Not really, but it's been a long time since I talked with anyone. And can't say anything more about that, just a heads up."

"That's fine. I already appreciate the info."

Fritz stopped and turned to Hera, squinting at her, "They told me you would try to get information out of me. You will never make me talk, you hear me. Never!" he said that line as if he was a captured spy in a movie.

Hera stopped, put on her best cold and villainous smile, and said in a firm and paused tone, "Oh, don't you worry, Mr. Fritz. When I'm done with you, you will beg to talk."

Fritz and Daskka stopped and just stared at the Empress for a moment before the herald finally spoke, "Damn… I don't know if that was more scary or more sexy."

"Yeah… I can see the evil villain, but I can also see the woman who should be addressed as 'Mistress' there."

Hera felt her ears starting to burn as her cheeks turned red, "C'mon guys, it was just a joke."

"I know, and don't worry. That won't work with us, guides, I mean. We can't feel that kind of love or attraction to you all. But use that one for someone you like. I think it will work," Fritz opened the door, "Now, welcome to my slice of heaven! All DIY."

"You made all this?" Daskka walked inside, crossing the tribal-looking door.

The outside of Fritz's house had very much that feeling of being made in someone's backyard. The entire place was made of logs tied together with vines and some sap to cover some open spots. The roof was also made of wood, but some very large palm leaves were woven together like cloth. There were three layers of that roof, each in a different direction which seemed to be a great idea to stop rain from coming inside. But that left Hera wondering, was there any rain in this place? Unable to figure that out, she walked inside and saw that the entire place was very different from what it looked like outside. For one, it was much, much larger. When walking from the beach, the hut looked to be, maybe, 5 meters wide at most, but the interior was well over 50 meters wide and across. All split into several sections, one central area with several pillows on the ground, a TV space on the left with some video game controllers, there was an enormous kitchen on the back, and even a small saltwater lake for him to swim around if he wanted. Everything was split with curtains that could change colors to let people see the shadows from the other side or to stop the light completely. The walls had a similar wooden look, but the only thing that followed what it looked like outside was the color of the wood. Instead of the round logs, the inside had actual planks that were much better-taken care of and set up.

"This is all DIY?" Hera gasped.

"Yep. Well, not everything. The water is not, and neither are the electronics. But I weaved the cloths, cut the wood, and even painted the ceiling baby blue with homemade paint. The pillows I just made with magic and then weaved the actual covers," Fritz said while puffing his… chest?

"Hang on… when you say DIY, what do you mean exactly? I remember Peaches saying you can just make anything."

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

"Yeah, so I created the materials, the wood, the cloth, the threads, etc. And then, I cut, stitched, and nailed everything together to make this place. I also dug that lake and all that. So you can say I just created the materials and made the rest myself."

"That is seriously impressive, this place looks great," Daskka smiled.

"Yeah, it does. It has that feeling of old tribal societies with some modern touch," Hera nodded, remembering the time she sold a book about the history of tents to a camping aficionado.

"That was exactly what I was going for! The last person I spoke with was from one tribe like that. Can't say more about it, but that's where the inspiration came from. And making concrete is sooooo annoying. There Is just too much stuff to make it work, and if the ratio is not right, it won't settle like you want to, or it will settle too quickly and blah," Fritz blew raspberries and took a deep breath before continuing, "But I am pretty happy with this. And I still do some DIY when other guides ask me. It's kind of a hobby of mine," he walked to the fridge, "Do you want something to drink? I have soda, wine, coffee, water, tea, whatever you want."

"I would love a very cold soda, orange, or pineapple flavor if possible," Daskka replied.

"Honestly, that sounds lovely. If it's not too much trouble. And do the other guides ask for big projects like a house?"

Fritz walked back with three glasses floating behind him. One with orange soda, one with pineapple soda, and another with grape soda for himself, "Not a house. They usually ask for furniture, a new rustic balcony, or a gazebo. Stuff like that. I made a really cool table for board games, but it was a bit too analog for a few people. They rather use something with sensors and holograms, but I never figured out circuits," he gave them the drinks and stopped for a moment before groaning, "Fine, fine. Ok, so we have to start the questions. The system is nagging me about it."

"Oh, sure," Hera took a sip of the orange soda while Daskka drank the pineapple one, "Can I start, or do you have to make the timer?"

Fritz clicked his claw, and a piece of cloth appeared behind him, going all the way to the ceiling. There were some numbers there counting 5 minutes, starting from the bottom like a ruler, "The sun will mark the time. As the light hits the cloth, it will tell you how much time you have left. Oh, and don't worry, it's not really the sun, just something that happens in here. I can also control the weather and time of day. But it's just a visual thing. I'm not speeding up time or anything. Not even we can do that."

Hera nodded, "Got it. So, first question. Is it really a high tide that will be a problem for us here? Since it's inside one of the shells, it feels like there is something more to it. I mean, sure, flooding the place is a problem, but we will be in a closed space. How can there be such a high tide?"

"Ah, no. You got it wrong. The high tide is on the other side. Here is more of a pressure problem. The shells have some magic that only affects ocean water. Well, some other things too, but I can't talk about that. You don't have enough time, anyway. Basically, the water inside the shells gets the same pressure as the deep sea. On the shell you guys are going to, it will be like… around a depth of about 2 thousand meters after the shell is completely full. To put it in perspective, that is about the same depth that whales dive when they are looking for food."

"Oh, crap. So we would turn into jelly," Hera gasped.

"Yep, that's why when the tide gets high here, the doorway is inactive. While on the other side, it works all the time, but the tide there can become a problem. There is where the current is so strong that people who try to fight it usually die."

"Is it that bad? Are we going to be ok?"

"Oh yeah. The room is… weird. There are a couple of underwater whirlpools around that make the water very dangerous. Only a few areas are suited for living beings. But, once every blue moon, the movement of the waters ends up stopping those whirlpools, and it takes a while for them to regain their strength. That's your window. That's why you will be able to get there and move around without too much trouble."

"And how long do we have?" Hera asked.

"Realistically, about four hours. Then you will have around 30 minutes to get out of the water in the other room."

"Ok.. I'll push it for us to go in two hours or so. I don't like the idea of cutting it so close."

Fritz nodded, "Yeah, that's a good call," he glanced back, seeing that there were still about 2 minutes left, the sun was still high in the sky, but it was already starting to move to the horizon, "Do you have other questions? Maybe about this room?"

"Well. I don't know. I can't think of anything that we can use now. I'm sorry. I'm sure there is a bunch of fun stuff here, but we didn't have a chance to explore."

"I have a question, then. Can I ask?" Daskka spoke up.

"Sure," Hera turned to Fritz, "Is that ok?"

"Absolutely. As long as you say it's ok."

"Then Daskka, go ahead."

"If you didn't have much time but wanted to find one thing interesting about this room. What would it be?"

Fritz smiled, "Ooh, I like that one. Can I use up all the time left?"

"Of course," Hera nodded.

"Then…. Head a bit south, to the left of where we are. Find a shell with a green streak on the outside. I don't mean the one that looks like green, the one you know it's green. Go inside and look around, there is something really fun there. It's up to you to find it, but it shouldn't take more than 30 minutes. That's all I can say about it."

Hera smiled," You really know how to make a girl curious."

"To me, that's the job. Being a guide, I should just give you some tantalizing information to lead you in the right direction," Fritz smiled back.

"You are doing a great job at it. And thank you very much for bringing us here. This place is amazing."

"Thank you for coming by. Are you two finished with your drinks?"

"One moment," Daskka dunked her head inside the glass and finished her pineapple soda, "I'm done."

"Me too," Hera passed the cups to Fritz, "It was delicious."

"Those are brands we use. But the taste is very similar to the ones you guys made. Without all the additives."

"That's pretty cool," Hera looked around, "Should we go back to the beach?"

"You should, after all, your friends are there. We are already outside."

Without Hera even realizing it, she was already back at the cave, and Fritz was in front of her with his shell on his back.

"That felt much better," Hera gasped.

"I figured. Now, you better go, you have a lot to do today. It was amazing to see you, and I hope I can talk to you in the future again."

"Of course, you can. It was my absolute pleasure. And your house is amazing."

With that, Fritz walked back inside the tunnel while Hera left. She wanted to give everyone a head's up before searching for 'something really fun' that Fritz mentioned.